You have probably seen the articles or the social media posts claiming that black women are the most educated demographic group in America. Often the post will say that black women have more masters or doctoral degrees than anybody else. The claim is partially true, But only if you present the data in a very specific way. Making the claim that black women are the most educated demographic in America is very misleading.

One other observation about the people making the claim: I've seen a number of black women say that they were not hired because of DEI programs but because they are more qualified. So why are you so upset that the federal government and many private institutions are eliminating DEI programs? You did not benefit from them according to your statement so the elimination of those programs has no negative effect upon you.

I did a little more research than normal on this topic and found an article written by Nikki Katz. I chose the article because it seemed to be very well sourced with quite a few citations to support her claims. Of the undeniable truths of life in my world is that if a person writing an article or paper links to their source documentation, it's generally more reliable and accurate. This was an exception.

Ms. Katz cites data from the years 2000 to 2016. That data seems to be somewhat old, and I thought there might be more recent data. There is and some of it supports part of her claims that are actually valid. The rest of it of course does not. For example, she claims that more women are attending secondary and education institutions than men. That is true. She also claims that bachelor's degrees awarded to black students increased by 75% and associate degrees by 110%. Also, true. That's where she ends her relationship with the truth.

Her claim that black women are the most educated demographic in America is based upon a 2014 study. One statistic was 12.7 percent of the female population attending colleges and universities are black but that they consistently make up over 50% of the number of black people who receive post-secondary degrees. She seems to be comparing 2 disparate groups in that claim. You will begin to realize why in a moment.

She goes on to say that black women who receive post-secondary degrees are, on a percentage basis, outpacing white women, Latinas, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. And there it is, on a percentage basis. For you government school graduates let me do a little math for you. If there are 10 black women enrolled in a master's degree program, six of whom earned their degree, that's a graduation rate of 60%. If there are 20 white women in a master's degree program, ten of whom earned their degree, that is a graduation rate at 50%. However, there are 10 white women with degrees as compared to six black women with degrees. So, 10 white women will be competing for the same jobs as six black women. White women hold more master's degrees.

I went to the statistics published by the National Center for Education Studies which is a division of the federal Department of Education. When they look at it advanced degrees, in this case doctoral degrees, which includes PhD, EdD, medical and dental degrees, and JD, 61% of the women getting those degrees are white. 12.5% of those degrees are awarded to black women. There are more white women enrolled in those programs than black women. The numbers are comparable for the awarding of master's degrees.

Several of her other citations don't even mention post-secondary degrees at all. Urban.org only studied the percentages of different demographic groups seeking college degrees. There was significant growth in the minority demographics from 1996 to 2016 while the percentage of all students that are white decreased significantly.

The obvious conclusion is that more women are seeking advanced degrees than are men. There has been significant growth in the minority demographic but the claim that black women are the most educated group is false. It appeals to people that look at everyone based upon demographic characteristics because it's a feel-good story. It appeals to their emotional thought process. The truth doesn't really denigrate any group but they don't see it that way.